


To the Reticent You

by cafne (tateragi)



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst, Fluff, Ghosts, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates, Slow Burn, but its
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27987210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tateragi/pseuds/cafne
Summary: Maybe Shuichi should have thought a little bit more about whether or not he could handle living with a ghost, but hey, who could say no to cheap rent?(and they were roommates... but with ghosts)
Relationships: Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	To the Reticent You

Shuichi realized he could see ghosts when he was eight.

It was on the set of his parent’s new TV show. He remembered seeing someone that seemed a bit too out of place in a set for a romance drama. They were barefoot, had messy and knotted hair covering the entirety of their face, and wore dirty clothes with ripped edges. He also saw some sort of dark-brown stains on their clothing, too reminiscent of dried blood. Maybe an extra for a horror film or a murder mystery show? Shuichi thought it odd how no one seemed to acknowledge them, but of course, like the socially-anxious kid he was even at that young age, he didn’t dare try to approach the stranger himself. Instead, he asked one of the assistants, one that he became acquainted with every time his parents left him alone to his own devices, who that person was.

 _Were they filming a horror show that day?_ He remembered asking something along those lines. The young woman had looked confused at the question that seemingly came out of left field, patiently asking Shuichi what he meant. After her eyes followed where the boy was looking at to empty air, she hurriedly made an excuse about an urgent task before running off.

He later saw the same young woman talking to his parents while not-so-discreetly pointing at him. Needless to say, they never brought him on set again. 

Looking back on it, that was probably the breaking point for why his parents decided to keep him in Japan with his uncle while they went off to America.

He decided to keep his observations to himself.

Life with his uncle and his wife wasn’t too bad. In fact, Shuichi preferred it. He liked how his uncle actually made time out of his day to talk to him, and even allowed him to help out in his detective agency, usually with infidelity cases. He started tackling missing pets cases too, and found that he was rather good at detective work. He was happy to be useful.

His ability to see ghosts didn’t really bother him again until he managed to solve a homicide case by chance. The ghost of the victim had followed him when he realized that Shuichi could see him, and urged him to solve the case. He did so, thinking that he was doing the right thing, that he was bringing a murderer to justice, until he sat in that courtroom and heard about the horrible things the victim did to the culprit’s family. He couldn’t forget the sheer hatred in the man’s eyes as he looked straight at Shuichi, and he still couldn’t forget it when people told him that the culprit was right to do what he did.

Shuichi couldn’t hear ghosts but he remembered seeing the sneer on the victim’s face and the way his lips moved to say “serves that fucker right” as the culprit was given the death sentence.

Shuichi felt sick.

He started avoiding both the eyes of the living and the dead.

The ghosts stopped bothering him too. Some did try to get his attention but soon stopped trying when they were promptly ignored (his hat also helped a lot). As Shuichi no longer acknowledged their existence in any way, they must have figured that he lost his ability to see. His “third eye” must have closed... or something like that.

Except it hadn't, and he can still very much see ghosts at the age of 24.

Shuichi went back to doing detective work again, though it was only for infidelity cases, missing persons, and other smaller cases. The young detective still works mainly in his uncle’s office, but his help is often employed by the police. Just... not for any homicide cases. He’s not quite ready to try solving those yet, despite it already being ten years since That Case. He never saw the victim’s ghost again after that, and he was glad for it. 

Shuichi continued pretending that he couldn’t see any apparitions, which got easier as time went on. His avoidance for eye contact in his later teen years certainly helped. However, he’s starting to find it a bit hard to keep up the façade when a certain ghost has been consistently bothering him since he moved into his new apartment.

Shuichi moved into the apartment unit fully aware that it had a ghost problem. It was a very nice two-bedroom apartment, one with an ensuite, and a spacious living area. It was close to his uncle’s office, the shopping district, and overall was in a great area. For such an apartment to have such cheap rent? The real estate agent must have either been playing with him or there must have been something wrong with the place. The agent had looked anxious, eyes almost desperately pleading with Shuichi to take the offer. As shady as it was, Shuichi wasn’t going to say no to cheap rent. 

As he signed the lease, however, he managed to gather a few details on the apartment and concluded that it, indeed, had a ghost problem. The ghost there must be _something_ for rent to have lowered that much, but after having dealt with ghosts for basically his whole life, Shuichi thought he was prepared... as prepared as a quiet, shy detective who was still a bit scared of uncovering the truth could be, at least.

Well, if he dies from this, then it is what is.

Upon entering the apartment, Shuichi realized that he wasn’t prepared. No, he wasn’t prepared at all for the hurricane that is the ghost haunting his apartment.

Shuichi tried ignoring the ghost at first, like always. Maybe if he ignored it hard enough, it’ll go away by itself? But as he watched the ghost skip (float?) towards him with the most shit-eating grin the bluenette had ever seen, Shuichi knew his next few years living in this apartment was going to be anything but peaceful.

With that, he heaved a sigh and started unpacking his bags.

* * *

"Congrats on the new apartment, Saihara-kun!"

"Ah, thank you, Akamatsu-san," replied Shuichi, glancing off to the side at his ghost flatmate (?) wandering around the café. It's been following him around lately, and today was no exception. Shuichi looked back at his friends and smiled sheepishly, "I still can't believe I managed to get it."

 _Though I guess it's not so hard to believe, now that I know why people don't want to rent it,_ Shuichi thought to himself as he saw the ghost run back to their table from his peripherals, apparently done bothering the other customers.

"You should invite us someday, bro!" His friend, Kaito, exclaimed with a thumbs up. 

Shuichi choked on his drink, sending him to a short coughing fit. He pointedly ignored the ghost nodding excitedly next to him. "S-sorry, Momota-kun, my apartment is still a bit... messy. I can't let you all see it in that state yet," the detective shot his friends an apologetic look. He couldn’t let any of them come over with this ghost problem, especially with Kaito around. 

Shuichi has only been staying in the apartment for about a week now, but he already knew what kind of personality the ghost haunting the flat had. He was playful and mischievous, doing all he could to mess with Shuichi, despite the latter doing his utmost best to ignore everything. He followed Shuichi around, both inside and outside the apartment. He would often poke Shuichi's face, blow air into his ears, and sometimes even attempt to hug him (the ghost ends up phasing through Shuichi, but the detective still had to fight back the blush threatening to show on his face), all while quietly snickering to himself. Who knows what he would do if Shuichi's friends came over? He'd definitely have the time of his life (er...) scaring Kaito, who was deathly afraid of ghosts and the occult alike, even if he vehemently denies it.

"Pssh, don't worry about that, Shuichi!" Kaito laughed as he reached over to slap a hand on the bluenette's shoulder. "You've seen my house and yours can't possibly be more messier than th-"

"If he doesn't want us coming over yet, stop insisting," Maki interrupted with a glare towards the astronaut. When Kaito sat back down with a pout, her glare softened and with an added layer of fondness to her voice, called him an "idiot."

Kaede giggled at the couple before turning back to Shuichi. "If you want, I could help you straighten the place up?"

“Oh no, I couldn’t ask that of you, Akamatsu-san!” Shuichi protested, much too quickly that it might come off as strange to his friends. _Shoot._ He cleared his throat in embarrassment. “Um, I really appreciate the offer, truly, but I don’t want you overexerting yourself.”

“He’s right,” Maki added. “We don’t want you hurting yourself, especially since you have a recital coming up soon. If anyone here could help with any heavy-lifting, it would be me.”

“H-hey, I could help with that, too! Just say the word, sidekick!”

Maki rolled her eyes at Kaito’s input. “Yeah, we all know how _helpful_ you are.”

Shuichi laughed. "Really, thank you, everyone, but I think I can manage by myself. I only have a few more, uh, things to take care of, and when I'm done," he gulped. "You guys can... come over."

Four faces beamed at him, and all Shuichi could do was internally sigh. He'll need to talk to the ghost, won't he..? He could already feel the exhaustion from the boundless energy he'll surely have to deal with once he acknowledges his unlikely roommate. Admittedly, it probably was about time for Shuichi to have a talk with the ghost, even if it was just to tell him not to bother his friends. He couldn't keep pretending that he knows nothing for the rest of his stay in the apartment, and he has a feeling that the ghost actually already _knows_ he can see him. The ghost was rather bold in his advances, after all, and Shuichi also struggled at times to keep a straight face. It would be surprising if the ghost hadn't picked up on Shuichi's ability at this point.

_Tonight... I'll talk to him tonight._

As his friends continued on with a topic he wasn't familiar with, Shuichi briefly wondered if he should be drinking something else in preparation for tonight's encounter.

* * *

Shuichi arrived at his apartment, a plastic bag in hand. He stopped by at a store earlier that night, and had rushed out as soon as he made his purchase. He could still remember the weird look the cashier gave him as she scanned the item he bought, and felt his face burning in embarrassment again. He wished he still had his hat to hide under, but he'd long left it to collect dust at his uncle's house.

Shuichi sighed and steeled his nerves. The ghost was currently nowhere to be seen so Shuichi had no choice but to call out to him.

“Look, I think you know that I can see you. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have been doing half the things you’ve been doing...” Shuichi paused. “Or maybe you would have, you seem like the type to cause trouble on purpose.”

Shuichi felt a chill run through him, and soon, the ghost appeared right in front of him. He had a wide grin on his face and it almost seemed like he was _glowing._ He looked proud of himself, as if he won whatever game he was playing with Shuichi, and he might as well have, if that game was "how long until the detective cracks and finally addresses the ghost in the room."

_Ah... Yeah, he definitely knew I could see him._

Shuichi made his way to the living room, the ghost following right after. He set the bag down on the floor and took out its contents, setting it up as he talked. "I can see ghosts but I can't really, um, _hear_ them, so I bought this to hopefully talk to y- hey, don't laugh!"

Shuichi's face flushed as he watched the ghost laugh at the ouija board he finished setting up. He couldn't hear him laughing, but he's still embarrassed seeing it. 

The ghost giggled a little bit more before reaching for the coin. Shuichi grabbed his notebook and pen and began transcribing each character the ghost moved their finger over to.

[How cliche]

"Y-yeah, that may be so, but it was the only way I could think of..." Shuichi weakly protested. This wasn't exactly a normal situation. "A-anyways, let's start with introductions. Who are you..?"

The ghost's response was immediate. [I'm your lover from a past life here to haunt you in this life and the next]

The ghost's smile was saccharine as Shuichi read the message. "I... Bullshit."

The ghost giggled, and reached for the coin again. [Ouma Kokichi, at your service]

A name. He finally got a name to call his apartment ghost.

"It's nice to meet you, Ouma-kun," he smiled slightly. "I'm Saihara Shuichi."

The ghost rolled his eyes.

"R-right, of course you already know my name," Shuichi chuckled nervously. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He can't believe he's actually talking to a ghost... again. He hopes that this doesn't end up like the one other time he did something like this. "I... What do you want from me?"

There must be something that Kokichi wants, for him to be bothering Shuichi so much. Of course, he was a ghost and he now knows that someone could see him. Maybe he'll ask for assistance with some unfinished business, or maybe... No, Kokichi doesn't look like the type to sic Shuichi on a revenge plot.

Kokichi's answer was a simple [Nothing].

"...Nothing?"

[Just here to have some fun haunting you nishishi]

"Nishi... was that a laugh?" Shuichi looked at the ghost incredulously. "Did you just spell out your laugh?"

[Nishishi you tell me Shumai]

Before Shuichi could question him on _that,_ the coin moved rapidly and Shuichi had to rush to capture every word Kokichi was currently spelling out.

[Anyways, no matter how fun it is carrying out an occult thing like the luigi board, don't you think it's gonna get boring and tiring to talk like this? It's the 21st century, Saihara-chan, there are better ways to communicate through text]

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "What do you-"

Kokichi seemed to huff at this. [For a detective, you're kinda slow, aren't you?]

Shuichi pouted a bit. It's not like there's a guide to talking to ghosts, and he doesn't really believe any of the devices that advertises the ability to communicate to the supernatural. He's not exactly sure of what Kokichi is capable of as a ghost either.

The ghost only spelled out one word. [Laptop]

"My laptop..?"

The ghost nodded, but didn't seem to want to elaborate any longer, ouija board long abandoned. Well, Shuichi couldn't really blame Kokichi for getting tired of communicating through it. There was a lull in their conversation every time he had to painstakingly spell out his message, and it must have gotten annoying.

Shuichi got up from his seat on the floor and walked towards the dining room. He often left his work bag there, so he could simultaneously work on the table while eating. He retrieved his laptop from the bag, set it down on the table, and opened it up to a new document for Kokichi to start typing to. 

[much better!!]

Shuichi tilted his head at the sight of the ghost's hands hovering over the keyboard and actually pressing the keys. "Huh, I didn't realize you could type."

Kokichi scoffed. [ofc, i watched technology evolve, you know? i had to learn how so i could stay hip with the cool kids!

...nah, it's just similar to flicking a light switch on and off, like pressing and tapping on things so it's pretty easy, but the speed i'm typing is impressive, right? praise me, saihara-chan!!!] 

This... certainly was a better way to talk to Kokichi. Shuichi definitely wasn't expecting a ghost to be able to type, and he wonders what other things Kokichi is capable of.

Shuichi nodded and gave his roommate a small smile. "Yeah, this is pretty impressive."

Kokichi shot him a grin and a peace sign, then began typing again. [i can't use the touchpad (for obvious reasons duh) but small movements like moving the mouse and tapping on the keys are no problem so we can talk this way! see, saihara-chan?? isn't this much easier and faster than your dumb ol ouija board??!!]

"I-I wasn't sure what to do to talk to you, so I went with something old-fashioned? I guess? But thinking about it, it was a bit of a dumb idea, huh?"

[yup it was a rlly dumb idea, saihara-chan] Shuichi sighed. [nishishi but no worries!! it's not often you get to talk to a ghost like this so you wouldn't have known... unless you're some sort of ghost expert or something? are you a ghost hunter??? ghostbuster????]

"N-no, I'm nothing like that," Shuichi stammered. "Though, now I wish I was... a ghost expert, I mean."

At the ghost's silence, Shuichi continued. "You're able to move coins and other smaller objects, you just showed me that you can also type, but you seem to phase through me if you try initiating any physical contact..?" Shuichi thought aloud with one hand covering his mouth. "What warrants the things you can do or touch, and what doesn't fit the requirements? I'd... like to know."

Kokichi had an amused smile as he typed. [hohhh, you want to know more about me, mister detective?]

Shuichi felt his face get hotter and he looked away. Kokichi was right; it's not often that he could talk to a ghost so freely like this, and he didn't look like that much of a bad guy for the bluenette to be too wary. Shuichi can't deny that his curiosity as a detective was piqued.

His attention turned back to the laptop when he heard the clacking of the keyboard, eyes widening slightly at the new message.

[well! if you want to get to know me, we do have all the time in the world. Unless I kill you first.]

"Wh-what?"

[Did you forget, Saihara-chan? I'm a ghost, I'm dead, and it's awfully lonely being like this. I might just kill you and drag you to the afterlife with me.]

Kokichi's smile was eerie now, uncanny and out of this world. For the first time since he moved in, Shuichi could really see him as the ghost he is in every sense of the word. 

...

[juuust kidding! i lied! but i got you good, didn't i?] 

Just as quickly as it came, Kokichi's creepy smile was gone and replaced by one so jovial, so cheerful, that it was hard to imagine that he had made such an evil expression, if only Shuichi didn't just see him wearing it. 

[But I really will kill you eventually.] Kokichi continued, eyes glinting with a mischievous light and Shuichi just, he just felt so exhausted.

_Maybe I really should be drinking for this conversation._

He doesn't understand how someone could switch expressions and demeanors so quickly. He didn't realize that he could actually feel unnerved by Kokichi, especially since all he's seen of the other was his attempts to gain Shuichi's attention but none of them were ever with ill intent. 

Kokichi looked harmless, and all the things he had done to Shuichi before he finally talked to him were all in good fun, all to entertain himself (and possibly to get a rise out of the detective, just to see how long Shuichi could manage to keep pretending like he wasn't seeing a ghost).

He... really is just lying, right?

But something was strange with some of Kokichi's earlier statements, though Shuichi can't figure out _what._ But then again, he does have all the time in the world to find out, as long as Kokichi still haunted his apartment.

Shuichi sighed, not quite sure how to ask his next question. It was one of the first things he noticed about the ghost, actually, and something that's been bothering him for a while.

Shuichi always assumed that the ghosts he saw were how the ghosts looked during their last moments. Their incorporeal forms were still human-shaped, and not rotting flesh and skeletons, but you also wouldn't mistake them as being alive, with them being transparent and having tell-tale injuries. Of course, they weren't actively bleeding or anything like that. Kokichi, on the other hand, didn't have any external injuries that gave away how he died, nor was his clothes stained with any blood.

Well, Shuichi's anything but an expert on ghosts, so of course he wouldn't know every single thing about them. He's not sure what rules they follow, why they look the way they do, why he can see them, but... it's still a bit insensitive to ask for Kokichi's cause of death, isn't it?

Shuichi asks anyway, knowing that the other won't give him a straight answer. And he was right.

Kokichi only gave him a small smile.

[You're the detective here, my beloved Saihara-chan. Figure it out.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This'll probably be a short multi-chaptered story! Updates will be a bit sporadic, but I'll try to update once a month. Actually, it's finals week, why am I writing a fic-
> 
> Anyways!! Sorry, no descriptions or anything like that, because I Am Not a Writer (tm) and also because I have,, no idea what clothes to give ghost!Ouma. It's a modern AU but he's a ghost?? What kind of clothes do you give to a ghost???? I'll try to draw them by next chapter since I doubt I'll ever describe their clothing LOL

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I do have an idea for where this story will go so let's hope I finish this :pray:
> 
> (The title is taken from a vocaloid song of the same name since I couldn't think of a title shchf)


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